Department for Transport

Airports: Retail Trade

Sir Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government's airport support scheme will include support for retail businesses based within airports.

Robert Courts: The Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme announced on 24 November will provide support to eligible airports and ground handling companies, up to the equivalent of their business rates liabilities in the 2020/21 financial year, subject to certain conditions and a cap per applicant of £8m. AGOSS will be launched shortly when full details on eligibility will be set out.

Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total size of the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme funding will be; and whether conditions to maintain jobs or reduce greenhouse gas emissions will be applied for airlines and airports to access that support.

Robert Courts: The Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme, announced on 24 November will provide support for eligible businesses, up to the equivalent of their business rates liabilities in the 2020/21 financial year, subject to certain conditions and a cap per applicant of £8m. Final decisions on the scheme and eligibility criteria are yet to be made. AGOSS will be launched shortly with further details of the scheme, including conditions to access that support, to be set out.

Driving Tests: Coronavirus

Fay Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of granting an extension to the expiry dates of driving theory certificates during the covid-19 outbreak.

Rachel Maclean: The maximum duration of two years between passing the theory test and a subsequent practical test is in place for road safety reasons; to ensure that a candidate’s knowledge is current. This validity period is set in legislation and the Government has no current plans to lay further legislation to extend it. It is important that road safety knowledge and hazard perception skills are up to date at the critical point that they drive unsupervised for the first time. Those with theory test certificates expiring may have taken their test in early 2019. Since then, their lessons and practice sessions will have been significantly curtailed during recent lockdowns and it is likely that their knowledge base will have diminished. Research suggests that this would be particularly harmful for hazard perception skills, a key factor in road safety. Ensuring new drivers have current relevant knowledge and skills is a vital part of the training of new drivers, who are disproportionality represented in casualty statistics. Taking all this into consideration, the decision has been made not to extend theory test certificates and learners will need to pass another theory test if their certificate expires.

Railways: Tickets

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2021 to Question 133124, for what reason advance rail tickets purchased before the announcement on 24 November 2020 of rules for Christmas travel are not eligible for a full refund.

Chris Heaton-Harris: In accordance with the National Rail Conditions of Travel, Advance tickets are non-refundable and this is clearly stated at the point of purchase. The Government announced on 26 October 2020 that passengers with an Advance ticket who are prevented from travelling due to local or national restrictions are eligible for a fee-free change of journey or, if purchased directly from a train operator, they may apply for a Rail Travel Voucher, valid for 12 months. These were the arrangements in place that applied to purchasers of Advance tickets prior to 24 November 2020. Special refund arrangements were put in place specifically for passengers who had bought Advance tickets in good faith for travel between 23 to 27 December 2020, following the Prime Minister’s announcement on 24 November 2020 about the Christmas travel window. Therefore, in the exceptional circumstances which led to tougher restrictions being announced on 19 December 2020, the Government agreed that passengers with an Advance ticket for travel during the Christmas travel window, if purchased between 24 November 2020 and 19 December 2020, could exceptionally apply for a fee-free cash refund.

South Western Railway: Catering

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department’s authorisation was required for South Western Railway to terminate its on-board catering contract with Elior.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Under the terms of the Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement, South Western Railway was required to seek the approval of the Secretary of State to terminate the Elior catering contract. It had became clear to South Western Railway and Elior that in the current circumstances the terms of the contract were not financially viable.

South Western Railway: Catering

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the South Western Railway franchise agreement requires the provision of on-board catering on services provided by that company.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The South Western Railway Franchise Agreement does not specify that catering services should be provided by a particular catering company. The Franchise Agreement Committed Obligation to provide on-board catering has been waived for the remainder of the current Franchise Term as part of the Emergency Measures Agreement and Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement.

Portsmouth International Port: Coronavirus

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide financial support to establish a lateral flow covid-19 testing site at Portsmouth International Port.

Robert Courts: Covid-19 testing sites have been located at thirty-five Information and Advice sites (Motorway Service Areas and Truck Stops) across the country, linked to key haulier stopping spots on their journey to ports. The Department for Transport has set-up three Information and Advice sites near Portsmouth that provide free testing for hauliers. The closest one on the M27, at Rownhams (Northbound) Services, operates 24 hours a day.The Department for Transport worked closely with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Resilience Forum to identify suitable locations which would minimise local disruption adjacent to ports. Site locations were determined by analysing such criteria as proximity to port, proportion of haulage traffic using the route, and capacity of the parking available. Covid-19 security has also informed the locations and site infrastructure. The Department for Transport continues to urge hauliers not to leave testing to the last opportunity, and to get tested well before arriving at their port of departure.

Railways: UK Relations with EU

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2021 to Question 131409, what assessment has he made of the effect of UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the rail industry.

Chris Heaton-Harris: There is no rail-specific chapter in the UK-EU negotiations, but DfT officials have been working closely with rail industry stakeholders and other government departments across the piece to ensure the industry is well placed to adapt to any changes arising from the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement. We have not seen any operational impact on the domestic railway as a result of the agreement to date.

Freight: Government Assistance

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support hauliers transporting goods internationally.

Rachel Maclean: A number of measures are in place to support hauliers transporting goods internationally. These include the haulier border readiness campaign, which advertises across digital, radio, trade press, online and outdoor areas, including billboards and advertising vans. This is supported by 46 Information and Advice Sites which provide training on use of the Check an HGV service. 35 of these sites are also providing drivers of HGVs and vans with free COVID-19 tests. The haulier handbook is readily available on GOV.UK and translated into 13 languages to ensure EU hauliers are aware of requirements to cross the border. The government also delivered seminars at EU industry days and has had exhibition stands at physical and virtual events and conferences across the EU, targeting commercial drivers and haulage firms.

Transport: North of England

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on transport in the North of changes to funding to Transport for the North.

Rachel Maclean: The Government is committed to levelling up every part of this country, including the North. This is reflected in the recent Spending Review, which included funding for key transport infrastructure projects and programmes in the North. Recently, we’ve confirmed Teeside as the home of the UK’s first hydrogen transport hub, are progressing a £500m scheme to bring back rail connections lost in the Beeching cuts including in the North, started work on the £51million A19 upgrade six months ahead of schedule and are progressing plans for the £1billion A66 upgrade. The most recent allocation of core funding to Transport for the North will enable the organisation to continue to play a valuable role in delivering its statutory functions of developing a transport strategy for the region and helping the Department to prioritise, bringing strength of partnership among members to speak to the government with one voice. The Department will continue to work with TfN to achieve our shared ambition of world-class transport infrastructure in the region.

Bus Services: West Sussex

Andrew Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to bus services in rural areas across West Sussex.

Rachel Maclean: The Government is committed to improving access to transport in rural areas. The Government pays almost £260 million per year in Bus Service Operators Grant, which benefits passengers by helping operators keep fares down, and enabling operators to run services that might otherwise be unprofitable and could lead to cancellation, particularly in rural areas. There is currently a ‘Call for Evidence’ open to seek ideas on what we could include within a Future of Transport Rural Strategy. Views are being sought on: trends in rural areas, opportunities from innovation for rural areas and the approach government could take to help shape these opportunities. We are also developing a National Bus Strategy for England, which will focus on the needs of passengers so that more people have access to bus services that meet their needs. The Government recognises the importance of good transport links for the sustainability and independence of communities, particularly in rural areas, and the Strategy will set out how national and local government, and the private sector will come together to support this.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

British Nationals Abroad: Seasonal Workers

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of new immigration rules for UK nationals seeking seasonal work outside tourism in the EU.

Paul Scully: Seasonal work is not a category normally featured in free trade agreements. However, temporary work routes were negotiated in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), as featured in the chapter on entry and temporary stay. These include: short-term business visitors; intra-company transferees; and those providing services under contract, whether as an employee or a self-employed professional. The contractual service suppliers and independent (self-employed) professionals categories are most likely to offer appropriate routes to seasonal workers. The TCA ensures both the UK and the EU offer length of stays of up to 12 months (with a limited number of exceptions in some Member States) and guarantees market access for a range of economic sectors, subject to qualification requirements and Member State reservations. Specifically, our agreement with the EU includes sectoral coverage for contractual services suppliers who provide tourist guides services, and travel agency and tour operator services. This mirrors commitments taken by the UK in our recent trade deal with Japan. The TCA also eases some burdens on business travellers, such as: removing the need for work permits for some short-term trips, and reducing the number of economic needs tests a country could impose to block access to exporters, which will also help seasonal workers.

Visas: Self-employed

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business. Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) effect of new visa arrangements on the ability of self-employed people to conduct business in the EU and (b) estimated cost of such requirements to the self-employed working in the EU in 2021.

Paul Scully: While freedom of movement between the UK and the EU has ended, the UK-EU Trade & Co-operation Agreement (TCA) contains provisions on the entry and temporary stay of natural persons for business purposes (Mode IV). This includes self-employed professionals. The TCA ensures that both parties offer a minimum standard of treatment for this type of professional, such as guaranteed lengths of stay of up to 12 months (subject to Member State reservations), and transparency and procedural facilitation measures where visas or work permits are required by a destination country. The TCA also guarantees market access to key economic sectors (subject to Member State reservations), including for the self-employed, and eases some burdens on business travellers, such as: removing the need for work permits for some short-term business activities, and reducing the number of economic needs tests a country could impose to block access to exporters. Taken together, these measures will help self-employed professionals to continue providing services in the EU and the UK. Requirements for visas and work permits, including costs, vary depending on Member State, and on the activity being performed. Those looking to work in the EU should check with their host state’s entry and stay requirements before travelling.

Public Houses: Coronavirus

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the tiered covid-19 public health restrictions on the ability to trade of (a) the 60 pubs in Reading East and (b) other pubs throughout the country.

Paul Scully: Scientific evidence shows that hospitality venues can be higher risk environments than other indoor settings, and people who are consuming alcohol tend to be less likely to comply with health guidance. Through tiering we are making these venues safer and reducing transmission of the virus. Whilst tiered restrictions have reduced the ability of pubs to trade, the Government has implemented a comprehensive and generous package of business support, worth £280 billion. This includes a new one-off grant worth up to £9,000, VAT relief, a business-rates holiday, and the extended furlough scheme. A further grant of £1,000 was made to support wet-led pubs in Tier 2, 3 and 4 areas, including Reading East, over the Christmas period.

Beer and Public Houses: Coronavirus

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with representative organisations for pubs and breweries on the effect of tier 2 and tier 3 public health restrictions on businesses in that sector.

Paul Scully: Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic the Government has worked closely with the hospitality sector to understand the impact of the pandemic on their businesses. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic the Government has worked closely with the hospitality sector to understand the impact of the pandemic on their businesses.  The new Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has met with representative organisations from across the hospitality sector since taking on the role on 11 January. Hospitality businesses have been able to benefit from Government support, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Government-backed loans, Local Restrictions Support Grants, additional funding provided to Local Authorities to support businesses and the Cultural Relief Fund. On 5 January, when the new national lockdown began, the Chancellor announced a one-off top up grant for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the spring.  A £594 million discretionary fund has also been made available to support other impacted businesses.

Personal Savings

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to provide statutory protections for people putting money in Christmas savings clubs.

Paul Scully: In December 2018, the Government set out in its response to the Law Commission prepayment report, ‘Consumer Prepayments on Retailer Insolvency’ that it intends to develop proposals to create a power to create sector specific legislation on pre-payments to enable action on Christmas savings clubs. The Government is considering the most practical route to formulate and implement this legislation.

Business: Coronavirus

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support his Department is providing to businesses that are adversely affected by the covid-19 lockdown announced in January 2021.

Paul Scully: My Rt hon Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on the 5th January a further package of support for businesses that are required to close, or which are severely affected by the restrictions put in place to tackle Covid-19 and save lives. Business that are mandated to close may be eligible for grants of up to £4,500 for every six weeks of closure through the Local Restrictions Support Grant Addendum: 5 January Onward. The Closed Business Lockdown Payment is a one-off payment of up to £9,000 to support business during the difficult Spring period. A further £500 million of discretionary funding has been made available via the Additional Restrictions Grant, this may be used to support business who have not been mandated to close but had their trade severely affected by restrictions. We have extended the application deadline for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme until 31 March 2021. Bounce Back Loan borrowers will also be able to top-up their loan, extend their loan term to ten years and take advantage of repayment holidays The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will remain open until the end of April 2021, with employees receiving 80% of their current salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Foreign Students

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will hold discussions with his US counterpart on ensuring that UK students can participate in the NASA International Internship Program.

Amanda Solloway: In the light of our growing international programme of space collaborations, it would be timely for us to consider the opportunities this programme might offer within funding constraints. I shall instruct officials at the UK Space Agency to discuss this with their counterparts at NASA.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of re-opening the covid-19 vaccination centre application process to community pharmacies which have the capacity to deliver at least 100 vaccines per week.

Nadhim Zahawi: NHS England and NHS Improvement wrote to pharmacies on 27 November 2020, explaining the process to apply to be designated as a vaccination service. This followed the Primary Care Network (PCN) designation process to map pharmacies to the gaps left where there is no PCN service or where the PCN offer is not enough, taking into consideration accessibility, especially in deprived populations.There are key requirements, which must be met by all designated sites, together with other considerations. These include facilities, availability of workforce, equity of access, geographical coverage, and the total number of sites that can be accommodated within the COVID-19 vaccine supply chain. Vaccinations will be provided to eligible cohorts from a variety of providers, who will be required to administer at least 1,000 doses of vaccine each week, in a way that minimises waste, and makes best use of the available supply.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to work with pharmacies to deliver the covid-19 vaccine rollout.

Nadhim Zahawi: Since 14 January 2021, community pharmacies in England started to offer the COVID-19 vaccination service, with more pharmacies joining over the coming weeks. These sites have been designated by NHS England and NHS Improvement after an application process. They fill the gaps left where there is no Primary Care Network (PCN) or where the PCN offer is not enough, taking into consideration accessibility, especially in more deprived areas.The Department, NHS England and NHS Improvement, and community pharmacy representative bodies will be working together to establish how community pharmacies’ role could be expanded further in the vaccination programme.

Coronavirus: Screening

Mr Marcus Fysh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of tests reported as positive for covid-19 were in respect of people who have taken more than one test at the same time in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what assessment he has made of whether the proportion of such positive tests conducted in that way has changed since the start of the outbreak.

Helen Whately: The people tested measure for United Kingdom statistics was initially used to avoid counting one person tested several times in a short space of time. Many people are now retested multiple times for valid reasons, such as regular testing of health and care workers over several months. This means that the ‘tests processed’ figure, which we have published since 4 July 2020, is a better measure of the scale of the testing service.

Coronavirus: Screening

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what facilities are available at covid-19 testing sites for workers to change their clothes when entering and leaving those locations.

Helen Whately: Changing facilities have been provided at each regional test site and local test site. Staff members are also provided with a uniform. Service providers have been instructed to advise staff to change into their uniform on arrival and before leaving the test site.

Coronavirus: Screening

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that community testing for covid-19 is accessible for autistic people; and whether he is taking steps to ensure (a) provision of accessible information and b) the training of staff on autism in those testing centres.

Helen Whately: Everyone with symptoms of COVID-19 is eligible for a test, but we are aware that certain groups or individuals may find accessing a test more difficult than others for a range of reasons. In booking a test it is possible for friends, relatives and carers to book a test on behalf of another person online or via 119, should they require assistance with the test booking process. We have also introduced specific training for call centre staff and on-site testing staff so that they are able to support those who find it difficult to administer the test themselvesHome testing has improved convenience for many people, including for those who may struggle to get to a test site. Since NHS Test and Trace began, we have been working with charities and organisations to understand accessibility issues and practical actions we can take to make testing more accessible and inclusive, including those which represent neurodiverse people.

Test and Trace Support Payment

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of people who have been notified by the NHS Test and Trace app to self-isolate are ineligible to apply for the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme because they have not been contacted by NHS Test and Trace by phone, email, letter or text message.

Helen Whately: As COVID-19 app users are anonymous, we cannot determine who has or has not been contacted by Test and Trace contact tracers as well as receiving an app notification to self-isolate as a contact of a positive case.From 10 December, app users who are identified as a contact of a positive case have been eligible to apply for the NHS Test and Support payment by exiting the app and registering with Test and Trace.

Coronavirus: Screening

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many covid-19 tests have taken place at covid-19 testing centres in (a) Wakefield, (b) Kirklees, (c) Leeds, (d) Bradford, (e) Calderdale, (f) Sheffield, (g) Rotherham, (h) Doncaster and (i) Barnsley Local Authority areas to date.

Helen Whately: Weekly data for pillar 2 COVID-19 testing in England is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/nhs-test-and-trace-statistics-england-weekly-reports

Coronavirus: Wakefield

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many covid-19 tests have been carried out in Wakefield Local Authority area through the use of home testing kits.

Helen Whately: Weekly data for pillar 2 COVID-19 testing in England is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/nhs-test-and-trace-statistics-england-weekly-reports

Coronavirus: City of York

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the creation of the covid-19 testing lab in Newcastle will deliver an increase in the number of available lab slots for tests from residents of the City of York.

Helen Whately: Our laboratories are already processing more than a million tests a week and we recently announced new facilities and technology to process results more quickly. Due to unprecedented demand, we continue to target testing capacity at the areas that need it most, including those where there is an outbreak and prioritising at-risk groups.

NHS Bank: Quarantine

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what financial support is available to NHS Bank staff who have to self-isolate but are not entitled to Statutory Sick Pay.

Helen Whately: Guidance published by NHS Employers states that National Health Service bank staff should receive full pay for all pre-booked bank shifts they would have worked had they not needed to self-isolate due to COVID-19. Trusts may also choose to pay bank staff in self-isolation on a ‘look back’ approach, where a bank staff member’s past earnings over a reference period would be used as a basis for calculating full pay.Where a bank staff member needs to self-isolate and there is no way to assess full pay, due to staff not having any pre-booked shifts or insufficient previous earnings, trusts will need to assess what a reasonable benchmark would be to set full pay at. Guidance issued by the Government to employers states that they should use their usual methods for calculating full pay using agreed processes at a local level and in line with NHS terms and conditions.

NHS: Bullying and Harassment

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of NHS staff have experienced bullying and harassment in the workplace in each year from 2010 to 2020.

Helen Whately: The following table shows the percentage of National Health Service provider trust staff, who responded to the NHS Staff Survey, who reported experiencing at least one incident of harassment, bullying or abuse in the previous 12 months. Prior to 2015 the format of questions posed in the survey changed and as such a longer timeseries is not possible. Year% of NHS staff who have experienced at least one incident of harassment, bullying or abuse at work from patients / service users, their relatives or other members of the public in the last 12 months% of NHS staff who have experienced at least one incident of harassment, bullying or abuse at work from managers in the last 12 months% of NHS staff who have experienced at least one incident of harassment, bullying or abuse at work from other colleagues in the last 12 months201528.813.518.1201628.112.917.8201728.312.818.0201828.513.219.1201928.512.319.0Source: Weighted NHS Staff Survey Results for NHS trusts in England- February 2020 NHS EnglandThe annual NHS Staff survey asks NHS staff in England about their experiences of working for their respective NHS organisations. For the 2019 survey, over 1.1 million NHS employees in England were invited to participate in the survey between September and December 2019 and there was a 48% response rate.

Coronavirus: City of York

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the potential increase of coronavirus testing capacity for the residents of the City of York in October.

Helen Whately: We increased our testing capacity to 500,000 tests a day by the end of October, expanding our network of testing sites. For the residents of York, there is a local testing centre at Wentworth Way Car Park at the University of York and a regional testing centre at Poppleton Bar Park and Ride.

Coronavirus: Contact Tracing

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that covid-19 test and trace systems are applied effectively in larger workplaces to minimise the spread of covid-19.

Helen Whately: Guidance documents targeted at specific sectors on working safely during the COVID-19 outbreak are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19Guidance on how NHS Test and Trace operates in the workplace and how employers, workers and self-employed people can support NHS Test and Trace is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-test-and-trace-workplace-guidance?priority-taxon=09944b84-02ba-4742-a696-9e562fc9b29d#guidance-for-employers

Abortion: Health Services

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking in response to reports of a lack of post-abortion care in the case of home abortions.

Helen Whately: Guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists sets out that healthcare staff caring for women requesting abortion should identify those who require more support in the decision-making process and pathways to additional support, including counselling and social services, should be available. As part of their consultation, clinicians will discuss possible complications with the woman and women will be provided with written advice and information about possible symptoms, including those which would necessitate urgent review. Women have access to a 24 hour telephone helpline should they have any concerns.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of prioritising covid-19 vaccines for foster carers of clinically extremely vulnerable children.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level.  For the first phase, the JCVI has advised that the vaccine be given to care home residents and staff, people aged over 80 years old and frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factorsThose who are in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill, should also be offered vaccination in priority group six.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) prioritise people working on critical infrastructure projects for the covid-19 vaccine and (b) publish a timescale for the rollout of that vaccine to that group of people.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level.  For the first phase, the JCVI has advised that the vaccine be given to care home residents and staff, people aged over 80 years old and frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors.If critical infrastructure workers are captured in phase one due to their age, or clinical risk factors they will be prioritised. Prioritisation decisions for the next phase of delivery are subject to the surveillance and monitoring of data and information from phase one, as well as further input from independent scientific experts, such as the JCVI. Phase two of the programme may include targeted vaccination of those at high risk of exposure and/or those delivering key public services.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) prioritise people working in jobs where maintaining social distancing is not practically possible for the covid-19 vaccine and (b) publish a timescale for the rollout of that vaccine to that group of people.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the  Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level.  For the first phase, the JCVI has advised that the vaccine be given to care home residents and staff, people aged over 80 years old and frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors.If people working in jobs where maintaining social distancing is not practically possible are captured in phase one due to their age, or clinical risk factors they will be prioritised. Prioritisation decisions for the next phase of delivery are subject to the surveillance and monitoring of data and information from phase one, as well as further input from independent scientific experts, such as the JCVI. Phase two of the roll-out may include targeted vaccination of those at high risk of exposure and/or those delivering key public services.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) prioritise firefighters for the covid-19 vaccine and (b) publish a timescale for the rollout of that vaccine to firefighters.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level.  For the first phase, the JCVI has advised that the vaccine be given to care home residents and staff, people aged over 80 years old and frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors.If firefighters are captured in phase one due to their age or clinical risk factors then they will be prioritised. Prioritisation decisions for the next phase of delivery are subject to the surveillance and monitoring of data and information from phase one, as well as further input from independent scientific experts, such as the JCVI. Phase two of the programme may include targeted vaccination of those at high risk of exposure and/or those delivering key public services.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) prioritise people working in frontline logistical services for the covid-19 vaccine and (b) publish a timescale for the rollout of that vaccine to that group of people.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level.  For the first phase, the JCVI has advised that the vaccine be given to care home residents and staff, people aged over 80 years old and frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors.Frontline healthcare workers are staff who have frequent face-to-face clinical contact with patients and who are directly involved in patient care in either secondary or primary care/community settings. Non-clinical ancillary staff who may have social contact with patients but are not directly involved in patient care are also considered frontline healthcare workers. If people working in frontline logistical services for the COVID-19 vaccine fall into these groups, then they will be vaccinated in priority group two.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to give vaccination priority to people who live with and care for clinically extremely vulnerable people.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level.  For the first phase, the JCVI has advised that the vaccine be given to care home residents and staff, people aged over 80 years old and frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factorsThose who are in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill, should also be offered vaccination in priority group six.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including covid-19 mass testing centre staff to the priority list for receiving the covid-19 vaccine alongside frontline NHS staff.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level.  For the first phase, the JCVI has advised that the vaccine be given to care home residents and staff, people aged over 80 years old and frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors.If testing centre staff are captured in phase one due to their age or clinical risk factors, then they will be prioritised accordingly. Prioritisation decisions for the next phase of delivery are subject to the surveillance and monitoring of data and information from phase one, as well as further input from independent scientific experts, such as the JCVI. Phase two may include targeted vaccination of those at high risk of exposure and/or those delivering key public services.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) prioritise people working in the armed forces overseas for the covid-19 vaccine and (b) publish a timescale for the rollout of that vaccine to that group of people.

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) prioritise people working in the armed forces in the UK for the covid-19 vaccine and (b) publish a timescale for the rollout of that vaccine to that group of people.

Nadhim Zahawi: The  Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level.  For the first phase, the JCVI has advised that the vaccine be given to care home residents and staff, people aged over 80 years old and frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors.If military personnel are captured in phase one due to their age or clinical risk factors they will be prioritised. Prioritisation decisions for the next phase of delivery are subject to the surveillance and monitoring of data and information from phase one, as well as further input from independent scientific experts, such as the JCVI. Phase two of the programme may include targeted vaccination of those at high risk of exposure and/or those delivering key public services.

Department for Education

Free School Meals: Voucher Schemes

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the free school meals voucher scheme will continue to be available to eligible children during the January 2021 covid-19 lockdown.

Vicky Ford: During the period of national lockdown, schools should continue to provide meal options for all pupils who are in school. Meals should be available free of charge to all infant pupils and pupils who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals who are in school.Schools should also continue to provide free school meal support to pupils who are eligible for benefits related free school meals and who are learning from home. Extra funding will be provided to support schools to provide food parcels or meals to eligible children. Where schools cannot offer food parcels or local alternatives, the national voucher scheme is in place so that every eligible child can access free school meals during the national lockdown.

Uni Connect Programme: Finance

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2020 to Question 122780 on Uni Connect Programme: Finance, what assessment he has made of the effect of the timetable for a funding decision for Uni Connect on (a) staff delivering and (b) the continuity of that programme.

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a long-term approach to funding (a) Uni Connect and (b) other social mobility projects to enable them to establish themselves and demonstrate their effect.

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the effect (a) Uni Connect and (b) other outreach projects on people from disadvantaged young people during the covid-19 outbreak.

Michelle Donelan: The Uni Connect outreach programme operated by the Office for Student (OfS) has, since its inception in 2017, established 29 regional partnerships of universities, colleges, employers and other local partners, to provide sustained outreach to young people in schools and colleges in areas with low or unexplained gaps in higher education (HE) participation. The programme has been successful in addressing cold spots in outreach and enabling engagement from schools and colleges. Funding this programme has embedded a collaborative approach to widening access and enabled local partners to galvanise action around higher education outreach to complement the funding already spent by HE Providers on outreach as part of their Access and Participation Plans.The initial investment in the Uni Connect programme to establish a collaborative model and set up a regional infrastructure comes to an end in July 2021, so it is an appropriate time to consider the scope and objectives of the programme, including funding other areas of increasing importance for students and prospective students, particularly in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.The OfS is currently consulting on the future of Uni Connect and will want to consider all aspects of the programme including the impact of any changes on staff and the continuity of the programme. The OfS has provided partnerships with programme-wide updates at regular meetings with Programme Leads and Chairs, regarding the next phase of funding for Uni Connect. These updates have been clear that decisions about future funding for academic year 2021/2022 will be subject to decision making from spring 2021 by the OfS, in light of the teaching grant available and having regard to general duties, public sector equality duty and statutory guidance.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, writes annually to the OfS, setting out the available teaching grant funding, and will issue the letter for 2021/2022 in due course.

Apprentices: Coronavirus

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support apprentices to catch up on the training and learning that they have missed during the covid-19 to ensure that they can finish their apprenticeship fully qualified.

Gillian Keegan: The department is committed to supporting apprentices and employers to safely continue with, and complete, their apprenticeship programmes. We have introduced flexibilities to ensure that apprenticeship training and assessments can continue during the COVID-19 outbreak.Where it is not possible and practicable for the apprentice to continue training, a break in learning can be used to allow the apprentice to return to learning at a future date. It is our goal that apprentices are able to promptly resume their apprenticeship and continue to successful completion of end-point assessment. For apprentices who have taken a formal break in learning, this will result in the planned end-date for their apprenticeship being replanned upon returning to learning to take into consideration the duration in line with the length of their break.We continue to review the flexibilities in place to ensure high-quality training can continue allowing apprentices to undertake their learning and assessments despite current operating constraints. Our guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-apprenticeship-programme-response.

Universities: Admissions

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of gathering (a) data on pupil absence due to the covid-19 outbreak and (b) other data on pupils to assist universities with the entrance selection for 2021.

Michelle Donelan: We recognise that students applying to university in 2021 have experienced unprecedented disruption to their education as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.Universities have an important role to play in ensuring that this is a country where everyone can reach their potential, regardless of their background or ethnicity.Universities are independent and autonomous institutions. As such, how to use data in their admissions decisions is a matter for each individual higher education provider.However, we would encourage universities to be flexible when making offers to individual students whose education has been disproportionally and adversely impacted from the COVID-19 outbreak, to ensure that these students are able to receive fair offers for 2021. We will give further and higher education providers the earliest possible indication of the process and timescale for how grades will be awarded this year, so they can plan accordingly.The department continues to regularly publish statistics on pupil attendance and COVID-related absence in schools.

Pupils: Mental Health Services

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional mental health support the Government is providing to pupils during the January 2021 covid-19 lockdown.

Vicky Ford: The government has made children’s wellbeing and mental health a central part of our response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and the support we have already put in place for children and young people will be critical during this time. The department has issued guidance for schools which includes information and sources of further advice on supporting mental health and wellbeing, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.We have ensured that schools have the flexibility to offer a place in school as a vulnerable child to any pupils for whom being in school will help them manage their wellbeing and mental health, or to access support more easily. Decisions will be informed by the school’s experience of how pupils have been affected so far.Schools will continue to offer pastoral support to pupils working remotely at home, informed and supported by training and expert advice that we have made available, including through the £8 million Wellbeing for Education Return scheme and through local links with mental health providers. This information and support is relevant to remote provision as well as to those attending school. Schools should make sure that parents and pupils know who to contact if they have new concerns about mental health and wellbeing.A £1 billion COVID “catch-up” package with £650 million shared across early years, schools and 16-19 providers over the 2020/21 academic year is also supporting education settings to put the right catch-up and pastoral support in place. The Education Endowment Foundation have published a COVID-19 support guide to support schools to direct this funding, which includes further information about interventions to support pupils’ mental health and wellbeing.The department will also be convening a task force to look at the effects on children, young people and staff in the education system and we will confirm the next steps as soon as possible.Public Health England has produced guidance for parents and carers on supporting children and young people's mental health and wellbeing. For those who need specialist support or help, all NHS Mental Health Trusts are providing 24/7 open access telephone lines to support people of all ages and continue to deliver mental health support to children and young people.The government continues to invest in and prioritise mental health. The NHS will receive around an additional £500 million this year, to address waiting times for mental health services, give more people the mental health support they need, and invest in the NHS workforce.In the long term, we remain committed to our joint green paper delivery programme with the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, including introducing new mental health support teams for all schools and colleges, providing training for senior mental health leads in schools and colleges, and testing approaches to faster access to NHS specialist support.

Children's Rights: Coronavirus

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals on the rights of (a) children in care and (b) children with special educational needs and disabilities during the January 2021 covid-19 lockdown.

Vicky Ford: The duties to our most vulnerable children that are set out in primary legislation (such as in section 22(3) of the Children Act 1989 and section 1 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002) remain in place but we recognise that we are operating in a challenging context.   To ensure services are maintained during the COVID-19 outbreak and to ensure that support remains in place, following a public consultation over summer 2020, a small number of amendments to secondary legislation came into force on 25 September 2020 (Adoption and Children (Coronavirus) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020). These amendments are in place until 31 March 2021. We will continue to keep the situation under review, including through discussion with interested parties including children’s rights groups.   Separately, there are some relevant exceptions to national restrictions, for example, continuing to allow contact between children and parents who do not live together.At this stage, we do not intend to issue further notices to modify the duty on local authorities and health commissioning bodies under section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to secure or arrange the provision specified in an Education Health Care Plan. However, we will keep this position under review based on the evidence.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of per pupil funding in primary schools.

Nick Gibb: The Department is increasing core schools funding by £2.6 billion this year, and £4.8 billion and £7.1 billion by 2021-22 and 2022-23 respectively, compared to 2019-20. This investment has enabled us to increase funding for primary schools by 3.2% more per pupil through the schools national funding formula (NFF) next year, 2021-22, compared to this year.Every primary school will receive at least £4,000 per pupil next year, up from at least £3,750 per pupil this year. On top of that, all schools, will receive additional funds to cover additional teachers’ pay and pension costs, adding a further £180 to the minimum per pupil amount.We are also increasing the extra support the NFF provides to small, rural primary schools by increasing the maximum amount they can attract through the sparsity factor to £45,000, a significant increase from £26,000 this year. This has contributed to small and remote primary schools attracting 5.1% more per pupil through the NFF next year compared to this. This is the first step towards further expanding the support the NFF offers small and remote schools from 2022-23.We keep school funding under review on an ongoing basis and the NFF is designed to respond to changes in need, in order for us to target funding where evidence indicates it is most needed.

Assessments: Coronavirus

Laura Farris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support private candidates who were due to sit exams in the 2020-21 academic year as external candidates.

Nick Gibb: In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Government considers that examinations cannot be held in a way which is fair. The Department has announced that GCSE, AS and A level examinations will not go ahead this summer as planned.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has asked the Chief Regulator at Ofqual to find a clear and accessible route for private candidates, and those not in school this year, to be assessed and receive a grade. The Department and Ofqual have launched a two week consultation on how to fairly award all pupils a grade that supports them to progress to the next stage of their lives, including consulting specifically on four different approaches for private candidates to receive a grade.The consultation can be accessed from the Ofqual website and will be open until 29 January 2021. The Department and Ofqual strongly encourage all our stakeholders, including private candidates and their parents, to respond. We will continue to engage with a range of relevant stakeholders when developing plans for our policy on GCSE, AS and A level assessments in 2021, as will the examinations regulator Ofqual.

Home Education: Assessments

Mike Hill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that home-schooled children are able to receive grades  for (a) GCSE, (b) iGCSE and (c) A-Level examinations in the same way as children in the main school system.

Nick Gibb: In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Government considers that exams cannot be held in a way which is fair. The Department have therefore announced that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has asked the Chief Regulator at Ofqual to find a clear and accessible route for private candidates and those not in school this year to be assessed and receive a grade. The Department and Ofqual have launched a two-week consultation on how to fairly award all pupils a grade that supports them to progress to the next stage of their lives, including consulting specifically on four different approaches for private candidates to receive a grade.The consultation can be accessed via this link and will be open until 23:45 on 29 January 2020: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-how-gcse-as-and-a-level-grades-should-be-awarded-in-summer-2021. The Department and Ofqual strongly encourage all our stakeholders, including private candidates and their parents, to respond. We will continue to engage with a range of relevant stakeholders when developing plans for our policy on GCSE, AS and A level assessments in 2021, as will the exams regulator Ofqual.International GCSEs are not regulated by Ofqual and are not part of the arrangements for summer 2021 that apply to GCSEs and A/AS levels. The Department is in contact with the exam boards that provide these qualifications to understand their current position and make clear our views before they take a final decision.

Schools: Coronavirus

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to reduce the number of pupils in school during the covid-19 lockdown that began in January 2021.

Nick Gibb: During this period of national lockdown, schools should only allow vulnerable children and the children of critical workers to attend face-to-face education. The Department has resisted restrictions on attendance at schools since the first lockdown but, given the rapidly rising numbers of cases across the country and the intense pressure on the NHS, we have needed to do more to reduce all our social contacts wherever possible. Limiting attendance at this time is about reducing the number of contacts that people have with other households.The Department publishes weekly national-level data on pupil attendance. The latest data, published 19 January, shows that attendance in state primary schools in England was at 21% and at 5% in state secondaries. The data is available to view here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.On 7 January the Department published further guidance, ‘Restricting attendance during the national lockdown: schools’, which sets out what all schools need to do during the COVID-19 outbreak from January 2021. This includes the system of controls which schools must continue to implement, to the fullest extent possible, to reduce risks in their school and create an inherently safer environment. The guidance is available to view here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/950510/School_national_restrictions_guidance.pdf.

Pre-school Education: Coronavirus

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential merits of prioritising staff in early years settings for covid-19 vaccinations.

Nick Gibb: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine/s the UK should use and provide advice on who should be offered them. JCVI advises that the first priorities for the COVID-19 vaccination should be the prevention of mortality and the maintenance of the health and social care systems, and as the risk of mortality from COVID-19 increases with age, prioritisation is primarily based on age. This prioritisation captures almost all preventable deaths from COVID-19. In the next phase of the vaccine rollout, JCVI have asked that the Department for Health and Social Care consider occupational vaccination in collaboration with other Government departments. The Department is working with the Department for Health and Social Care and Public Health England to ensure that the education and childcare workforce is considered for prioritisation in the roll out of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Coronavirus: Schools

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to support schools during the covid-19 outbreak.

Nick Gibb: This has been a challenging time for teachers and school leaders, and the Government has supported them since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. We have regularly published and updated guidance to ensure that it reflects the most up to date medical and scientific information to make sure that teachers, parents, and young people are as well-informed as possible in the current rapidly changing circumstances. The latest guidance for schools, on restricting attendance during the national lockdown, is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/952443/210114_School_national_restrictions_guidance_FINAL_14012021.pdf.This guidance includes the Public Health England endorsed system of controls which, when implemented in line with a revised risk assessment, create an inherently safer environment for staff and pupils where the risk of transmission of the infection is substantially reduced. This provides a framework for schools and colleges to put in place proportionate protective measures to manage risk effectively, which has been in place since the start of the autumn term.To help identify and limit the asymptomatic spread of the virus within the teaching workforce we have made rapid-result COVID-19 tests available to schools. Information about the testing programme for schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/asymptomatic-testing-in-schools-and-colleges.To support schools in providing remote education to most pupils during the current lockdown, we updated our good teaching practice and resources guidance on 12 January to offer up-to-date support to those who are teaching remotely.The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. This includes over 800,000 laptops and tablets that were delivered to schools, trusts and local authorities by 17 January.We have partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home. We are grateful to EE, O2, Sky Mobile, Smarty, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Mobile, and Vodafone for their cooperation to-date. We continue to invite a range of mobile network providers to support the offer.All four major mobile network operators - Vodafone, O2, Three and EE - have also committed to working together to make access to Oak National Academy free for school children. Additionally, I am grateful to BT and EE, who are making access to BBC Bitesize resources free from the end of January 2021.Funding and support is also available for schools to get set up on Google or Microsoft platforms. These platforms bring together the school community, pool resources and give pupils the opportunity to work with their peers remotely. As of 5 January, 6,900 schools have applied for a digital education platform.Information about the good teaching practice and resources guidance and the get help with technology scheme is available at: https://get-help-with-remote-education.education.gov.uk/good-teaching-practice.html, and: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-with-technology-for-remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19.To make up for lost teaching time and stop pupils and students falling behind, our £1 billion catch up package remains in place, including the £650 million catch-up premium and in school support through the National Tutoring Programme for the most disadvantaged.The Government recognises the pressure that headteachers and teachers are under. We thank them for all that they have done and continue to do, to educate and support children as we respond to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Schools: Coronavirus

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether guidance issued by his Department during the first national covid-19 lockdown in March 2020 allowed children without access to the internet at home to attend school.

Nick Gibb: Guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision. The overall definition of vulnerable children has been in place since March 2020. It includes children who are assessed as being in need under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, children who have an education, health and care plan, and children who have been identified by the education provider or local authority as otherwise vulnerable for any other reason. Since the outset, guidance has been clear that education providers and local authorities have had full flexibility to allow children to attend school based on their assessment of the child’s needs.A number of examples of the factors that providers may wish to consider under this third category of vulnerability have been provided throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. This is not an exhaustive or definitive list and the guidance states that these categories are given as examples that providers might wish to factor in when identifying otherwise vulnerable children. Education providers should interpret this in light of the wide range of information they have available to them, such as the needs of the child and their family.One specific example within this list includes the term “those who may have difficulty engaging with remote education at home (for example due to a lack of devices or quiet space to study)” which was first used in published guidance on 28 August 2020 to include reference to the fact that children having difficult engaging in remote education might be a factor that education providers may wish to consider when identifying children who may be vulnerable.

Basic Skills: Qualifications

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department has issued to universities on accepting students unable to obtain functional skills qualifications during the covid-19 lockdown announced in January 2021.

Michelle Donelan: The government is working closely with partners across the education sector, and with higher education (HE) providers, to minimise the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and the disruption it has caused to young people’s education, including for those who will be applying to university for the 2021/22 academic year.The joint consultation between Ofqual and the Department for Education on alternative arrangements for the award of vocational and technical qualifications and other general qualifications in 2021 was published on 15 January. It seeks views on the department’s position that functional skills qualification assessments should continue to take place remotely or in line with public health guidelines where possible, and that alternative arrangements should be introduced for those learners who are unable to access assessments.We are encouraging universities to be flexible when making offers to individual students whose education has been disproportionally and adversely impacted from the COVID-19 outbreak in order to ensure that these students are able to receive fair offers for 2021.

Universities: Admissions

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with universities on ensuring that students applying for university in the 2021/22 academic year are not disadvantaged by the cancellation of exams.

Michelle Donelan: The government is working closely with partners across the education sector, and with higher education (HE) providers, to minimise the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and the disruption it has caused to young people’s education, including for those who will be applying to university for the 2021/22 academic year.Through discussions at my HE taskforce, and from regular conversations that I have had with representative groups and individual universities, I am encouraged that universities will be flexible when making offers to individual students applying to university in 2021/22, to ensure that these students are able to receive fair offers. It is more crucial than ever before that we tap into the brilliant talent that our country has to offer, and make sure that university places are available to all who are qualified by ability and attainment to pursue them and who wish to do so.The Department for Education and Ofqual have recently launched a joint consultation inviting views on the alternative arrangements by which students will be awarded GCSEs, AS and A level grades in summer 2021, as well as the arrangements for vocational and technical qualifications. The consultation will take account of views from a range of parties including the HE sector to ensure that young people are supported to move to the next stage of their lives.It is also vital that students applying to university in 2021 have extra time to carefully consider their applications and make the best choices for their future. As such, for students applying to enter university in 2021, the UCAS deadline for most courses has been pushed back to 29 January 2021.

Pupil Premium

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason his Department's policy is that from April 2021 pupil premium allocations will be calculated based on the number of eligible pupils recorded by schools in their census in October 2020 and not the January 2021 census.

Nick Gibb: On 17 December 2020 we confirmed that the pupil premium will continue in 2021-22 with the same per pupil funding rates as in 2020-21. This is expected to increase pupil premium funding to more than £2.5 billion in 2021-22 as more children have become eligible for free school meals.For mainstream and special educational needs schools, we will base eligibility for the 2021-22 pupil premium funding on the October 2020 census. In previous years, we have used the January census to determine pupil premium eligibility. Moving to the October census brings the administration of the pupil premium in line with the rest of schools’ core budgets (most notably the national funding formula, and local school funding formulae), which calculate schools’ budgets for the coming year on the basis of the October census. The move to the October census simplifies the school funding system, and provide both schools and the Department with greater certainty around future funding levels earlier in the year.Alternative Provision and Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) will continue to be funded based on the January census, since there is no census for alternative provision in October, and the October census is not representative of the number of pupils in PRUs across a full academic year.

Home Education: Assessments

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans are being put in place for pupils who are home schooled and do not have access to a teacher-assessed exam grade.

Nick Gibb: In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Department has decided that exams cannot be held in a way which is fair. We have therefore announced that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has asked the interim Chief Regulator of Ofqual, Simon Lebus, to find a clear and accessible route for private candidates, and those not in school this year, to be assessed and receive a grade. The Department and Ofqual have launched a two-week consultation on how to fairly award all pupils a grade that supports them to progress to the next stage of their lives, including consulting specifically on four different approaches for private candidates to receive a grade.The consultation can be accessed from the Ofqual website and will be open until 29 January 2021. The Department and Ofqual strongly encourage all our stakeholders, including private candidates and their parents, to respond. We will continue to engage with a range of relevant stakeholders when developing plans for our policy on GCSE, AS and A level assessments in 2021, as will the exams regulator Ofqual.

Free School Meals: Voucher Schemes

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using a voucher system for the delivery of free school meals during the covid-19 outbreak.

Vicky Ford: Schools are free to decide the best approach for their free school meal pupils. They can provide lunch parcels, locally arranged vouchers, or they can use the national voucher scheme which re-opened for schools to order vouchers on Monday 18 January. Any support provided since 4 January 2021 through lunch parcels or locally arranged vouchers can be claimed back from the department.

Clubs: Children

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what financial and other support is available for clubs that support vulnerable children and provide essential childcare for key worker families.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is his policy to differentiate between holiday and school clubs and clubs that care for vulnerable children; and whether he plans to provide specific support to those clubs.

Vicky Ford: The government recognises the value of before and after-school clubs, not only toward economic recovery in enabling parents and carers to return and continue to work, but also in providing enriching activities and development opportunities to children and young people, particularly those who are vulnerable. Therefore, we have ensured that these settings have been able to continue to stay open in the new lockdown for all vulnerable children, and for children of critical workers where it is to support critical workers to work, seek work, undertake education or training, or attend a medical appointment or to address a medical need. We have also ensured that essential youth services, such as 1-1 youth work and support groups have been able to continue for the duration of the national lockdown, to ensure vulnerable children and young people continue to have access to these valuable services.We are acutely aware of the impact that COVID-19 has had on young people and the vital role our childcare and youth services play. That's why more than £60 million of the unprecedented £750 million package for the voluntary and charity sector has been directed towards organisations supporting children and young people. More recently a £16.5 million Youth Covid-19 Support Fund has been announced, which will protect the immediate future of grassroots and national youth organisations across the country. This is on top of £200 million government investment in early intervention and prevention support initiatives to support children and young people at risk of exploitation and involvement in serious violence, through the Youth Endowment Fund.In addition, the Youth Investment Fund remains a manifesto commitment for transformative levelling up across the country over the course of the parliament. In the recently announced Spending Review, £30 million of this was committed as capital investment for 2021-22. This will provide a transformational investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young people, so they can access support youth workers, and positive activities out of school, including sport and culture.We also recognise the financial pressures currently facing providers offering before, afterschool or holiday provision for children, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. It is for this reason we are strongly encouraging local authorities to support these providers using grants that have been made available to assist businesses that have been adversely impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy has introduced support for small businesses in response to COVID-19 through grant schemes administered by local authorities this financial year (2020-21). Since the introduction of national restrictions on 5th January 2021, local authorities can use the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) Addendum from 5 January 2021 onwards to support businesses impacted by restrictions but not required to close. This scheme is an extension of the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) scheme but has been adapted for the period of national restrictions. The principal feature is that the payment period is initially extended to 42 days from 5 January 2021 rather than the 14-day payment cycle in tiers.We have also encouraged all local authorities to consider what local grants could be used to bolster this part of the childcare sector in their areas, to safeguard sufficient childcare provision for children of critical workers and vulnerable children. This includes funding streams such as the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, aimed to support vulnerable children. The expanded programme, which comprises a £220 million fund to be delivered through grants to local authorities, will be expanded to reach all local authority areas over the Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays in 2021.

Foster Care

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether data is collected on local authority allocation of (a) training dedicated to safeguarding children with acute mental health conditions and (b) other training for foster parents.

Vicky Ford: The Department for Education does not collect data on local authority allocation of training.The government provides a range of guidance on safeguarding children and for foster parents and agencies, including:‘Working together to safeguard children’, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2;‘Keeping children safe in education’, available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/912592/Keeping_children_safe_in_education_Sep_2020.pdf#:~:text=Safeguarding%20and%20promoting%20the%20welfare%20of%20children%20is,enable%20all%20children%20to%20have%20the%20best%20outcomes;‘Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards’, available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/192705/NMS_Fostering_Services.pdf;and ‘Fostering’, available here: https://www.gov.uk/childcare-parenting/fostering.

Erasmus+ Programme

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to (a) replace opportunities for students from the EU to study and train in the UK and (b) extend those opportunities to other countries after the UK’s withdrawal from the Erasmus+ programme.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the the Turing Scheme will be open for applications.

Michelle Donelan: Under the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated with the EU, the UK will continue to participate fully in the 2014-2020 Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes. This means that the projects successfully bid for during the current programmes will continue to receive EU funding for the full duration of the project, including those where funding runs beyond 2020 and the end of the transition period. The government has decided that it is not in the UK's interests to seek continuing participation in the next Erasmus+ programme. Instead, the UK is introducing a new international educational exchange scheme that has a genuinely global reach. Under the Turing scheme, UK universities, colleges and schools will be able to bid for funding to enable their students to travel abroad for study and work placements starting in September 2021 – for any of their students, regardless of nationality. UK institutions are already speaking to their European counterparts to ensure they maintain and build upon their strong relationships. The government will support this engagement while also working to directly promote the Turing scheme overseas through government-to-government engagement. The UK is a world-leading destination for study and research, with four universities in the world’s top 10, and 18 in the top 100. The UK is currently second only to the USA as a destination for international higher education students with approximately 486,000 students from abroad. We have considerable appeal as a destination and partner in international mobilities and exchanges, not just within the EU but across the world. Through our planned update to the International Education Strategy, and measures such as the new Graduate Route, we intend to build on this global reputation. We will soon be launching the website and announcing the bidding process for mobilities to start in September 2021.

Social Mobility: Coronavirus

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of school closures during the covid-19 outbreak on social mobility.

Vicky Ford: The government is committed to the levelling up agenda and spreading opportunity throughout the country – every child should have the same opportunity to express their talents and make the most of their lives.We know that receiving face-to-face education is best for children’s mental health and for their educational achievement. We have resisted restrictions on attendance at schools since the first lockdown but, in the face of the rapidly rising numbers of cases across the country, and intense pressure on the NHS, we now need to reduce all our social contacts wherever possible. Limiting attendance during the national lockdown is about supporting the reduction of the overall number of social contacts in our communities.Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak we have expected schools to remain open for vulnerable children and the children of critical workers, whilst limiting attendance for the majority of children to help slow the spread of the virus. Schools have also been offering wraparound provision, such as breakfast and afterschool clubs, for those children eligible to attend. Resuming this provision is important to ensure that parents and carers who are critical workers can continue to work, as well as to provide enriching activities for vulnerable children that improve their wellbeing or support their education. We know this has been a challenging time for pupils and their families.For children who are not attending education settings in person we expect schools to provide remote education. We have updated the remote education guidance to clarify and strengthen expectations while on-site attendance is restricted. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/remote-education-good-practice/remote-education-good-practice.To make up for lost teaching time and stop pupils and students falling behind, our £1 billion catch up package remains in place, including the £650 million catch-up premium and in-school support through the National Tutoring Programme for the most disadvantaged.

Free School Meals

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to encourage all schools to routinely offer every child eligible for free school meals attending school a hot meal each school day during the covid-19 lockdown that has been in place since 5 January 2021.

Vicky Ford: Guidance has been published for schools providing meals during the period of national lockdown and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools.Schools should provide meal options for all pupils who are in school, including vulnerable children and the children of critical workers. Meals should be available free of charge to all infant pupils and pupils who meet the benefits-related free school meals eligibility criteria.The government will continue to provide schools with their expected funding for benefits-related free school meals and universal infant free school meals throughout this period.I wrote to schools in October encouraging them to make sure hot meals were provided. They should speak to their catering team or provider about the best arrangements for providing meals for those pupils in school. Schools have the freedom to decide on the best approach for their pupils and have a range of options which include lunch parcels, local vouchers or the department’s national voucher scheme. All meals provided in school must still comply with the school food standards: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standards-for-school-food-in-england.

Free School Meals: Voucher Schemes

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making free school meals vouchers to be exchangeable at community food unions and food pantries to allow greater quantities and quality of food to be available to families in financial difficulties.

Vicky Ford: Schools are free to decide the best approach for supporting their free school meal pupils while they are learning at home. They can provide lunch parcels, locally arranged vouchers, or they can use the national voucher scheme which re-opened on Monday 18 January 2021.

Ministry of Justice

Crown Court: Law Reporting

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of court transcripts in Crown Court cases.

Chris Philp: The Ministry is committed to ensuring the justice system is supported by quality transcription services that meet the needs of all those that require them.As part of the transcription contract which began on 26 June 2017 the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is confident that crown court transcripts provided by the Suppliers have a high degree of accuracy. The service provided by the suppliers is monitored by the MoJ and requires contracted Suppliers to sample a proportion of all transcripts produced on a monthly basis and report their findings to the Ministry. There is in place a robust complaints procedure which includes a quality assessment check of the transcript in question, the conclusion of which is decided by the Ministry.

Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre: Coronavirus

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2021 to Question 130669 on youth custody: coronavirus, whether any of those steps have been taken in respect of guidance not being implemented appropriately at Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre.

Lucy Frazer: We can confirm that an Improvement Notice was issued to Management & Training Corporation (MTC) Ltd in recognition of their underperformance in addressing recommendations following an Ofsted inspection, as per the contractual obligations.

Prisoners' Release: Temporary Accommodation

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison leavers have been supported into accommodation through the Offender Accommodation pilot schemes set up through the Rough Sleeping Strategy to date.

Lucy Frazer: The Offender Accommodation Pilots have been running since August 2019, successfully enrolling 324 individuals from HMP Bristol, HMP Leeds, and HMP Pentonville by 31st July 2020 when the enrolment period ended.The MoJ intends to publish an evaluation of the pilots after their completion, which will include figures on how many individuals enrolled onto the programme were supported into accommodation. We will use the lessons from the pilot to inform how we will provide accommodation for offenders in the future.

Prisoners' Release: Coronavirus

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison leavers have been supported into accommodation through temporary accommodation schemes implemented in response to the covid-19 outbreak since March 2020.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been released from prison (a) in total and (b) with settled accommodation since 23 March 2020.

Lucy Frazer: While some data for the accommodation funding scheme has been released ahead of publication (in recognition of the public interest in making information available) it is not possible to provide any further data ahead of the planned publication schedule. The statistics with associated breakdowns requested are scheduled for publication in July 2021.We recognise that accommodation is a key priority as it is often the first step in an individual’s resettlement journey. We continue to work with councils and charities to secure suitable accommodation, while investigating long-term solutions to prevent homelessness and help offenders turn their backs on crime.

Immigration: Legal Profession

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that immigration lawyers who carry out their role in a politically motivated way are barred from receiving public funds.

Alex Chalk: Every practitioner who provides immigration and asylum advice in the UK is required to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority or by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner. These bodies ensure that high standards of conduct are met and that practitioners act in the best interest of the client.Specifically in relation to publicly-funded immigration practitioners who hold a legal aid contract, an individual must also be accredited under the Law Society’s Immigration and Asylum Accreditation scheme, ensuring a high standard and competency for practitioners advising on immigration and asylum law.Legal aid contracts explicitly set out quality standards that govern the standard of advice that providers must maintain at all times in order to continue to perform legal aid work. Such provisions within the contract include obligations to:Act in the best interests of their clients and be uninfluenced by any factor other than the clients’ best interests;Comply with bribery, fraud and collusion legislation and never act in an unethical way;Allow the Legal Aid Agency access to conduct audits and official investigations;Provide files and other material to allow independent peer reviewers to assess and rate a firm.The compliance of legal aid providers with a legal aid contract is monitored and enforced by a network of Contract Managers within the Legal Aid Agency.The Legal Aid Agency has various enforcement powers under the contract, including the ability to apply different levels of sanctions, such as suspension or exclusion of individual staff members of a firm; suspension of specific types of work; refusal to pay; and ultimately termination of the legal aid contract.

Department for International Trade

Energy Charter

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what her Department's policy is on excluding existing and future investments in fossil fuels from the scope of investment protection in the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT); what assessment she has made of the effect of such an exclusion on the modernisation of the ECT; and if she will make a statement.

Graham Stuart: The United Kingdom supports the renegotiation of the investment protection provisions in the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), which seek to bring the Treaty in line with modern investment treaty practices. We have not made a policy decision to seek the exclusion of fossil fuel investments from coverage by the ECT nor have we assessed the likely effect if such an exclusion was made.

Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many licences for arms exports to Saudi Arabia have been denied since 2015.

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what conditions on arms use her Department has placed on Saudi Arabia.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: Arms exports require an export licence, and all export licence applications are assessed against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria (the “Consolidated Criteria”). HM Government publishes Official Statistics (on a quarterly and annual basis) on export licences granted, refused and revoked to all destinations on GOV.UK containing detailed information including the overall value, type (e.g. Military, Other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. This information is available at: gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data and the most recent publication was on 13th October 2020, covering the period 1st April – 30th June 2020. We are able to place conditions on how goods are used in situations where goods remain under an exporter’s control following export, such as temporary exports. We rigorously examine all applications on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated Criteria, which takes into account our obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty and other relevant rules of international law. Whilst no Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) have been refused since 2015, 11 Open Individual Export Licences (OIELs) have been rejected for arms exports to Saudi Arabia. This shows the Consolidated Criteria provide a thorough risk assessment framework and require us to think hard about the possible impact of both providing equipment and its capabilities.

Electric Vehicles: Bicycles

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether parts used for the construction of electric bikes are currently exempt from anti-dumping levies for imports into the UK from (a) China and (b) elsewhere; and whether the Government has plans to review the import levies that do apply to those components.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: The anti-dumping duty on certain bicycle parts originating in China (imposed by Taxation Notice 2020/34) does not apply to parts used in the assembly of electric bicycles. However, a person seeking to import bicycle parts from China for use in the assembly of electric bicycles needs to apply to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for authorisation, which prevents circumvention of the duty. For example, if a consignment includes front forks, frames, motors, and two or more other parts necessary to assemble electric bicycles, HMRC may consider the consignment to consist of electric bicycles, which are subject to both anti-dumping duty (imposed by Taxation Notice 2020/24) and countervailing duty (imposed by Taxation Notice 2020/25). HM Government intends to review the anti-dumping duty on bicycles and certain bicycle parts originating in China. The review, a transition review, will be initiated by the Trade Remedies Investigations Directorate (or its successor, the Trade Remedies Authority) before expiry of the current duty on 30th August 2024. There is no anti-dumping duty (or countervailing duty) on bicycle parts originating in any other country or territory.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Yemen: Peace Negotiations

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will put forward a new resolution to the United Nations Security Council on Yemen to increase international pressure to peacefully end the war in that country.

James Cleverly: We fully support the peace process led by UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, which operates under the auspices of UN Security Council Resolutions 2216 and 2451, and will continue to use all our diplomatic levers as appropriate to help peacefully end the war in Yemen.

Religious Freedom

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help tackle the persecution of religious minorities abroad.

Nigel Adams: The UK remains deeply concerned about the severity and scale of violations and abuses of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in many parts of the world. The UK is committed to defending FoRB for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Where we have concerns, we raise them directly with governments, including at Ministerial level.In 2019, the Bishop of Truro released a report commissioned by the then FCO with recommendations to improve the lives of people persecuted for their religion, faith or belief. Of the 22 recommendations, we have fully delivered 10, made good progress on a further 8, and we are confident that all 22 will be delivered by the time of the independent review in 2022.The Minister responsible for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon has underlined the UK's commitment to FoRB, including in November 2020 at the Ministerial to Advance Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Ministers' Forum of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance. On 20 December 2020, the Prime Minister appointed Fiona Bruce, MP for Congleton, as his Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief. Mrs Bruce will work with ministers, officials and others to deliver the Government's goal of seeing everyone, everywhere able to have and practise a faith, belief, or no religious belief, in accordance with their conscience.

International Development Association: Finance

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding the Government plans to allocate to the International Development Association in financial year 2021-22.

James Cleverly: Following the recent Spending Review settlement we are currently assessing the budgetary implications on all programme lines including IDA for 2021/22 to ensure strategic coherence of our aid budget. Until this process is complete we cannot confirm this as yet.

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the humanitarian situation for Yemeni people during the covid-19 pandemic of the US Administration's proposed designation of the Houthis as a terrorist group.

James Cleverly: The UK is deeply concerned by assessments from the UN and NGOs that the US Administration's decision to designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation is likely to disrupt the humanitarian response, an effect exacerbated by COVID-19. We have already engaged with the US to urge them to ensure that the vital humanitarian and COVID-19 response is able to reach Yemenis. We are calling on all parties in Yemen to facilitate the movement of humanitarian supplies and experts into and across the country to ensure an effective COVID-19 response. The UK is ready to support the World Health Organisation roll-out the COVID-19 vaccine once the Government of Yemen's application to the COVAX facility has been accepted. We are clear that agreeing a peace settlement will give Yemen the best chance of managing an outbreak of COVID-19; we call on all parties to engage constructively with the UN-led political process to achieve this.On 3 December, the Foreign Secretary announced an extra £14million UK aid to help 1.5 million households access food and medicines, taking the UK's commitment to £214m this FY.

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to assist with the provision of (a) exceptions to and (b) legal protection from the US Administration's proposed designation of the Houthis as a terror group to enable (i) commercial food imports to Yemen and (ii) charitable organisations to provide humanitarian support in Yemen.

James Cleverly: We are deeply concerned by assessments from the UN and NGOs that the US Administration's decision to designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation is likely to disrupt the humanitarian response and stop vital food supplies getting in to Yemen. We have already engaged with the US to urge them to ensure that the vital humanitarian response, including food supplies, are not disrupted.  Ministers and officials will continue to engage closely with the UN and other donors, including the US, to ensure life-saving humanitarian aid reaches the millions of Yemenis in need, to prevent famine where we can and to work with all parties involved to bring this extended conflict to a conclusion.

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans the Government has to support British (a) NGOs and (b) importers of life saving goods in Yemen in the event that the US terrorist designation of Ansarallah in Yemen affects the work of those humanitarian organisations.

James Cleverly: We are deeply concerned by assessments from the UN and NGOs that the US Administration's decision to designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation is likely to disrupt the humanitarian response and stop vital food supplies getting in to Yemen. We have already engaged with the US to urge them to ensure that the vital humanitarian response, including food supplies, are not disrupted.  Ministers and officials will continue to engage closely with the UN and other donors, including the US, to ensure life-saving humanitarian aid reaches the millions of Yemenis in need.

Yemen: Famine

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support international efforts to (a) tackle starvation and (b) prevent famine in Yemen.

James Cleverly: The UK is extremely concerned about increased levels of food insecurity and risk of famine in Yemen with 13.5 million people currently struggling to get enough food to eat and 16,500 people already living in famine conditions. We are playing a leading role in combating hunger in Yemen by committing £214 million this financial year (2020/21), of which £200m has already been disbursed.Our funding is providing support to at least 500,000 vulnerable people each month to help them buy food and household essentials, enrolling 25,000 children on malnutrition programmes and providing 1 million people with improved water supply and basic sanitation across Yemen.

Palestinians: Evictions

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to protect the 156 Palestinian families in occupied East Jerusalem from eviction and forced transfer.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to evictions of Palestinian families and the expansion of settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, what representations his Department has made to the Israeli authorities on reviewing the Absentees' Property Law and the Administrative Matters Law in that country.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the Government's policy is on the responsibility of the Israeli Government for the eviction of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan and throughout occupied East Jerusalem, notwithstanding the involvement of private settler organisations in that matter.

James Cleverly: We continue to be concerned by the impact of evictions on ordinary Palestinians and the viability of a future Palestinian state. We regularly make clear our serious concerns about the evictions of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem to the Israeli authorities and the Municipality of Jerusalem, both bilaterally and in co-operation with like-minded diplomatic partners. The Fourth Geneva Convention, which applies to all occupied territories, including East Jerusalem, prohibits demolitions or forced evictions absent military necessity.Evictions of Palestinians from their homes cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians, call into question Israel's commitment to a viable two-state solution and, in all but the most exceptional of cases, are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. I raised our concern about the eviction of Palestinians from their homes, with the Israeli Ambassador to the UK on 29 October 2020, and the British Embassy in Tel Aviv raises this issue regularly with the Israeli authorities. On 25 November 2020, the UK Consul General Jerusalem visited families at risk of eviction in Sheikh Jarrah, restating UK opposition to evictions of Palestinians from their homes. The UK is focused on preventing demolitions and evictions from happening in the first place through our legal aid programme, which supports Bedouin communities and Palestinians facing demolition or home eviction in both the West Bank and East Jerusalem. We continue to urge the Government of Israel to develop improved mechanisms for zoning, planning and permitting in Area C for the benefit of the Palestinian population, including by facilitating local Palestinian participation in such processes.

Indonesia: Overseas Aid

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support his Department is providing to Indonesia to help that country deal with the aftermath of the Sulawesi earthquake in January 2021.

Nigel Adams: The UK is monitoring the impact of the earthquake in Sulawesi and we are in contact with the Indonesian government and international partners. The UK is a contributor to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF), which allocated 459,977 Swiss Francs to the earthquake response on 18 January. The DREF is a pooled fund that provides financial support to local Red Cross and Red Crescent societies to ensure a rapid and effective response to smaller emergencies and crises. This vital funding will help the Indonesian Red Cross provide targeted support to 20,000 people (5,000 households) directly impacted by the earthquake to meet their immediate needs.

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the licencing and humanitarian exemptions framework from the US terror designation of Ansar Allah for British organisations providing humanitarian support to Yemen.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on general licences under the Ansar Allah terror designation framework; and what assessment he has made of whether those licences would include support to civil administration authorities.

James Cleverly: Following the announcement of the Trump Administration's decision to designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation, we have urged the US to ensure that the humanitarian response, commercial imports and UN peace efforts are able to continue. We welcome the commitment by the US to work with the UN, NGOs and donors to address the implications for humanitarian activity and imports into Yemen. We await the release of full legal documentation of the designation framework, which will allow us to more fully understand its impact.

Xinjiang: Journalism

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support independent journalism in the Xinjiang province of China.

Nigel Adams: Alongside severe restrictions on religion and culture in Xinjiang, freedom of expression and of the media is severely curtailed. We continue to urge the Chinese authorities to allow journalists to practice their profession without fear or arrest, harassment or reprisal, and to end extensive censorship and control over the media and wider freedom of expression. The UK has repeatedly taken a leading international role in holding China to account, including by leading statements at the UN Human Rights Council in June and the UN Third Committee in October. At the time, the UK was the only country to have led a joint statement at the UN.

Yemen: Famine

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to tackle famine in northern Yemen.

James Cleverly: The UK is extremely concerned about increased levels of food insecurity and risk of famine across Yemen with 13.5 million people currently struggling to get enough food to eat and 16,500 people already living in famine conditions. We are playing a leading role in combating hunger in Yemen by committing £214 million this financial year (2020/21), of which £200m has already been disbursed.Our funding is providing support to at least 500,000 vulnerable people each month to help them buy food and household essentials, enrolling 25,000 children on malnutrition programmes and providing 1 million people with improved water supply and basic sanitation across Yemen.

Iran: Uranium

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to the International Atomic Energy Agency on the recent announcement by Iran that it is enriching uranium to 20 per cent fissile purity.

James Cleverly: On 4 January, Iran commenced uranium enrichment up to 20 per cent at the Fordow plant in violation of its JCPoA commitments. The E3 issued a statement on 7 December 2020 making it clear that Iran should not implement any measures set out in its recently adopted nuclear law. We remain in regular touch with the IAEA, who have a mandate to monitor and verify Iranian nuclear activity, on this and other JCPoA compliance matters.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the universal credit monthly assessment period on the financial stability of claimants.

Will Quince: Universal Credit (UC) is a calendar monthly assessed benefit that is paid monthly in arrears. This approach reflects the world of work, where the majority of all employees receive wages monthly.Unlike the legacy benefit system, Universal Credit takes income and earnings into account in a way that is fair and transparent across all claimant circumstances, such as different frequencies in earnings and income received. The amount of Universal Credit paid reflects, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household for each monthly assessment period, including any income and/or earnings reported by the employer during that period. Monthly reporting allows Universal Credit to be adjusted on a monthly basis, which ensures that if a claimant's income falls, which results in a rise in their Universal Credit award, they will not have to wait several months to receive it. In addition, Work Coaches are trained to gauge claimants’ financial needs from their first contact and can refer them to more specialist support for personal budgeting, money guidance and debt advice if required, including through the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS).

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many sanctions have been applied to benefit claims since 2 November 2020.

Mims Davies: Sanctions statistics on those people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment Support Allowance (Work Related Activity Group), Income Support and Universal Credit are published quarterly and can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/jobseekers-allowance-sanctions Additional breakdowns of the figures can be found at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ Guidance for users is available at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html The latest statistics are to July 2020 and the statistics from November 2020 to January 2021 are expected to be published in May 2021.

Universal Credit

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of universal credit have been issued with court fine deductions in each of the last three years.

Will Quince: We are unable to provide figures for court fine deductions for all of the last three years as improvements to third party data reporting commenced in November 2018. Information which is available can be found in the table below. Month Payment DueNumber of claims with a deduction for court finesProportion of all claims with a deduction for court finesTotal number of UC claims madeNov-187,0001%1,116,000Dec-187,0001%1,256,000Jan-198,0001%1,380,000Feb-198,0001%1,481,000Mar-1913,0001%1,589,000Apr-1937,0002%1,681,000May-1961,0003%1,783,000Jun-1982,0004%1,864,000Jul-19101,0005%1,956,000Aug-19111,0005%2,046,000Sep-19116,0005%2,121,000Oct-19113,0005%2,218,000Nov-19108,0005%2,290,000Dec-19112,0005%2,367,000Jan-20116,0005%2,419,000Feb-20122,0005%2,502,000Mar-20126,0005%2,612,000Apr-2068,0002%3,073,000May-2071,0002%4,045,000Jun-20139,0003%4,302,000Jul-20126,0003%4,434,000Aug-20120,0003%4,537,000 Notes:1. Figures rounded to the nearest 1,000.2. Figures are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.3. Claim numbers may not match official statistics caseloads due to small methodological differences.4. Figures for court fine deductions are only available from November 2018 as data on the breakdown of third party deductions was not collated on the Universal Credit systems prior to this.5. The increase in the proportion of claims with deductions for fines is due to an improved manual process phased in between February and the end of March 2019 for courts to send through their court fines deductions.6. The decrease in number of claims with deductions for court fines from October 2019 is because the maximum deductions limit was reduced from 40% of the standard allowance to 30% of the standard allowance.7. Figures for April and May 2020 are affected by the temporary suspension of third party deductions due to Covid-19.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on support for people in sectors worst affected by the covid-19 outbreak.

Mims Davies: We are working with colleagues across government to support all jobseekers, including those in sectors most impacted by COVID-19. Across Government we are developing policies to provide people with employment and skills support that will help them back into the labour market, including measures set out in our Plan for Jobs. In 2020, the Chancellor announced our Plan for Jobs, which puts DWP at the heart of providing employment support to all, from the newly unemployed to those who are less connected with the labour market. Many people will be job-ready and will require less intensive support, utilising programmes such as Job Finding Support (light touch support within the first 13 weeks of unemployment) and Job Entry: Targeted Support (provision for people 13 weeks to 12 months unemployed). Jobcentres are engaging with both new and existing claimants, supported by the additional 13,500 new work coaches currently being recruited.Our Sector-based Work Academy Programmes will help people of all ages to move in to new sectors through training, a work placement and a guaranteed job interview. The government is also investing £2.9 billion in the Restart programme over 3 years. Restart will provide intensive and tailored support to over a million people who have been unemployed for over 12 months in England and Wales to help them find work.

Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2020 to Question 118536 on Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus, with reference to the report published by Scope in May 2020, entitled Disabled People and the Coronavirus, what comparative assessment she has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on people receiving (a) legacy benefits and (b) universal credit; and for what reasons people receiving legacy benefits are not entitled to a £20 uplift during the covid-19 outbreak.

Will Quince: The £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit was announced by the Chancellor as a temporary measure in March 2020 to support those facing the most financial disruption as a result of the public health emergency. This measure remains in place until March 2021. As the Government has done throughout this crisis, it will continue to assess how best to support low-income families, which is why we will look at the economic and health context before making any decisions. There are no plans to extend the uplift to legacy benefits. Claimants on legacy benefits can make a claim for Universal Credit if they believe that they will be better off. There are special arrangements for those in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium, who will be able to make a new claim to Universal Credit from 27 January 2021. Claimants should check carefully their eligibility and entitlements under Universal Credit before applying as legacy benefits will end when claimants submit their claim and they will not be able to return to them in the future.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Fisheries: Compensation

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the compensation for the fishing sector announced by the Prime Minister on 13 January 2021 will be part of the £100 million funding package for fishing.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding has been set aside to pay compensation to fish exporters due to difficulties in exporting shellfish since 1 January 2021.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on what date his Department agreed to establish a compensation scheme for exporters of shellfish.

Victoria Prentis: The UK seafood sector, already adversely affected by the impacts of Covid-19, will receive Government funding of up to £23 million for businesses adjusting to new requirements where they have experienced a verifiable loss due to failures in the EU export processes. The funding is in addition to the £100 million investment the Prime Minister announced on 24 December to rejuvenate the industry and coastal communities across the UK, and on top of the £32 million that will replace EU funding this year.

Waste Disposal: Air Pollution

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to provide support to local authorities for ensuring that air quality on the routes of refuse collectors across local authorities is monitored; and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on further support for local authorities with refuse fleets with air quality monitors.

Rebecca Pow: The Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) regime requires that local authorities assess air quality in their area and take appropriate steps when an issue is identified. The siting of air quality monitors is determined by local authorities in light of local conditions and in line with our statutory guidance. Defra provides guidance and support to local authorities to assist them in meeting these LAQM responsibilities. In addition, Defra has a national network of air quality monitors, the ‘Automatic Urban and Rural Network’ (AURN), currently comprising 270 sites across the UK. The number and positioning of AURN monitoring sites is in accordance with criteria set out in Air Quality Standards Regulation 2010. Local authorities receive grant in aid to cover their local air quality management duties. Defra's air quality grant programme provides additional funding to local authorities for projects in local communities to tackle air pollution. In delivering against our ambitious air quality commitments, we regularly hold discussions with Ministers and officials across Government departments, including the Department for Transport.

Primary Education: Air Pollution

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on providing support to primary schools for air quality level monitoring.

Rebecca Pow: In delivering against our ambitious air quality commitments, Defra regularly holds discussions with Ministers and officials across Government departments. Local authorities have statutory duties to review and assess local air quality and, where appropriate, declare Air Quality Management Areas and put in place action plans to address local pollution issues. Defra provides guidance and support to local authorities on local monitoring. Positioning of local monitors is determined by local authorities and expected to be in line with national and local priorities, which may include schools and other locations where there is high risk of public exposure to air pollutants. Local authorities are expected to cover the costs of their monitoring through their Grant in Aid funding allocation. In addition, over £1 million of Defra’s 2018/19 Air Quality Grant was reserved for local authorities to pilot and evaluate low cost sensors, including £180,000 which was awarded to Islington Borough Council, Slough Borough Council and Wakefield Metropolitan District Council to undertake projects focused on monitoring air quality in and around schools.

Members: Correspondence

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich of 12 October 2020, originally addressed to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, on the approach of property insurers to mature trees in close proximity to homes that require underpinning to prevent or correct subsidence, ref 9602865.

Rebecca Pow: Defra declined the transfer of this correspondence. It is currently with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to respond.

Roads: Litter

Lee Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to help reduce and discourage littering on roads and major highways.

Rebecca Pow: In the 2017 Litter Strategy, the Government set out a number of commitments to tackle roadside litter through education, improved infrastructure and enforcement. We have already given councils new powers to hold the keeper of a vehicle responsible for litter thrown from it by issuing a civil penalty, carried out a pilot survey of roadside cleanliness on those parts of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) which are litter-picked by local authorities and engaged over 100 of those authorities in research to explore associated issues, challenges and good practice. We expect to publish a report on our findings later this year. This work is ongoing and will also support future updates to the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse. On other parts of the SRN the responsibility for cleansing lies with Highways England, who have committed to their vision of a network predominantly free from litter, without compromising safety and delivered affordably, in their own Litter Strategy, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/highways-england-litter-strategy We will continue to promote anti-littering messages where possible, as we have done recently via social media and dedicated campaigns such as ‘Respect the Outdoors’. On behalf of Defra and MHCLG, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) have recently published guidance for local authorities and Business Improvement Districts in England on the provision of litter bins, which includes a section on ‘Highways, laybys and rest stops’. We are also making £2 million available in the form of grants to local authorities to improve the provision of litter bins. The Right Bin in the Right Place guidance is available at https://wrap.org.uk/content/binfrastructure-right-bin-right-place .

Plastics: Waste

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the amount of plastic waste (a) exported to non-OECD countries by the UK in each year since 2016 and (b) that will be exported to non-OECD countries by the UK in 2021.

Rebecca Pow: The UK Government has pledged to ban the export of all plastic waste to non-OECD countries and to introduce tougher controls on waste exports, including mandatory electronic waste tracking which will make it harder for criminals to obtain and export waste illegally. Defra has commissioned research to determine the environmental, economic and social impacts of the ban on exports of plastic waste to non-OECD countries and analyse policy options around implementation of the ban. This research project will commence shortly and will examine plastic waste recycling capacity in the UK and OECD, it will also assess future UK plastic waste arisings and the impact of national, regional and international policies on UK plastic waste shipments. The UK exports of plastic waste to non-OECD countries from 2016 onwards are illustrated in the table below:(Source: HMRC)  20202019201820172016Quantity Exported (tonnes)52,080171,480356,412479,748635,908  Information on exports of all wastes are gathered and published by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and can be accessed here: https://www.uktradeinfo.com/trade-data/ots-custom-table/

Food Supply: Production

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to (a) reduce food miles and (b) improve security of supply by increasing domestic output of food.

Victoria Prentis: Our food security depends on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production as well as imports from stable sources. We produce 64% of our entire food supply need, and that increases to 77% for indigenous food that we can grow or rear here in the UK for all or part of the year. These figures have been steady over the past 20 years.UK consumers have access through international trade to food products that cannot be produced here, or at least not on a year-round basis. This supplements our excellent domestic production, and also ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK's overall security of supply.Defra’s work on Agri-food chain sustainability is delivered through the ambitious WRAP-sponsored Courtauld 2025 voluntary agreement which has attracted signatories from across the food industry, and from central and local government. This work does not focus on food miles; it takes account of broader sustainability in the Agri-food chain from food waste to reduction of carbon and water. WRAP’s 2020 progress report showed that the strategies developed under Courtauld 2025 are working, including a 7% reduction in GHG emissions since the start of the programme in 2015.

Fisheries: Quotas

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the proportion of additional quota transferred from EU member states that can only be caught by fishing boats owned or operated by companies of EU member states.

Victoria Prentis: No assessment has been made on the matter raised. In October and November 2020, Defra consulted on how we would allocate this additional quota at both the UK and English level. We are currently analysing the responses and will publish the government response and policy in the near future.

Fisheries: Finance

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to announce details of the £100 million funding package for fishing.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage of the £100 million in fisheries support funding is (a) grants and (b) loans.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of the £100 million fisheries support fund will be allocated to (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) EU member states.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities will be eligible to apply for support from the £100 million fisheries support fund.

Victoria Prentis: The Prime Minister has announced proposals to support UK fishing communities with a £100 million programme to modernise their fleets and the fish processing industry. We will provide more detail in due course.

Zoo Animals Fund

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many organisations have received support from the Zoo Animals Fund; and if he will publish a full list of recipients of funding from that Fund.

Victoria Prentis: The Zoo Animals Fund has provided funding support to 28 organisations. Please see a list of businesses which have accessed the fund:- Baytree Owl & Wildlife CentreBrockswood at Cotwall End Ltd (T/A Brockswood Animal Sanctuary)Cheshire falconry ltdChew Valley Animal Park LimitedCombe Martin Wildlife & Dinosaur ParkCornish Birds of Prey CICDartmoor Zoological SocietyExotic Zoo Wildlife Park LtdIlfracombe Aquarium LtdIsland Amazon Adventure/Amazon World Zoo ParkJurassic Encounters Ltd T/A Ark Wildlife ParkLakeland Trust for Natural SciencesNational Centre for Birds of Prey ICBP Duncombe LtdNoah's Ark Zoo FarmOcean Conservation Trust LtdPonderosa Zoo & RTCPredator ExperienceScreech Owl SanctuaryShaldon Wildlife TrustShepreth Wildlife ParkTrust for Sustainable LivingWest Midlands Falconry Display Team Ltd (formerly known as The Falconry Centre Ltd)Wheatley Birds of PreyWild Wings Birds of PreyWoodside Wildlife Park/Woodside Falconry LtdXtreme Falconry LtdZoo2UZoological Society of East Anglia

Fisheries

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish the Government response to his Department’s consultation on landing more fish in British ports.

Victoria Prentis: Officials are working on the government’s response to the consultation to strengthen the economic link condition in England which we will publish shortly.

Fish and Shellfish: UK Trade with EU

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many UK lorries containing fish or shellfish have been denied entry to the EU since 1 January 2021.

Victoria Prentis: We are aware that TRACES – the EU’s customs system has recorded three consignments of fish or shellfish denied entry to the EU.

Home Office

Members: Correspondence

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Warley of 13 October 2020 regarding Mr Ebad Amiri.

Chris Philp: The Minister for Immigration Compliance and the Courts responded on 26 November 2020.

Immigrants: Sleeping Rough

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2021 to Question 131288 on Immigrants: Sleeping Rough, when her Department plans to publish guidance for migrants on the recent changes to the Immigration Rules which allow for the cancellation or refusal of leave to remain in the event that a person has experienced rough sleeping.

Chris Philp: Guidance for decision-makers on the application of the new Immigration Rule relating to rough sleeping will be issued in due course.Decisions using this provision will not be made until relevant guidance is available to support decision-makers.

Greek Islands: Migrant Camps

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help relocate unaccompanied children in the refugee camps on the Aegean Islands.

Chris Philp: Protecting vulnerable children is a key priority for the Government. In 2019, the UK received more asylum applications from unaccompanied children than any country in the EU and accounted for approximately 20% of all reported UASC claims made in the UK and the 27 EU Member States.There are 5,000 unaccompanied children being cared for in England alone, a significant increase since before the migration crisis in 2014. This has placed significant pressure on local authorities and it is important that we focus on ensuring that we can care for those who are already here before we agree to taking more children.The Home Office takes its responsibility for the welfare of children very seriously. However, responsibility for asylum seekers and refugees in EU Member States lies with the authorities of the safe EU country in which they are present in accordance with their international obligations.The United Kingdom is no longer bound by the Dublin Regulation. Our existing Immigration Rules enable unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Europe, among others, with family members in the UK to apply to join eligible sponsors such as those with refugee or humanitarian protection leave, or with British or settled status.Over the last 5 years the UK has resettled more refugees direct from conflict zones than any other European country. The Government is prioritising resettling vulnerable refugees direct from dangerous conflict zones rather than those who have often paid people smugglers to reach other safe European countries. Resettling from safe European countries often creates a pull factor whereby migrants are incentivised to undertake dangerous and illegal journeys to places like Greece in the hope of them being resettled elsewhere in Europe. Our most recent figures indicate that the UK is currently looking after more unaccompanied asylum seeking children than any other European country, including Greece.

Cabinet Office

UK Government Union Capability Independent Review

Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress the Government is making on the publication of the Dunlop Review on the UK Government's Union capability.

Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the Dunlop Review on the UK Government's Union capability.

Chloe Smith: Lord Dunlop’s review will be published in due course, alongside a full response from the Government.Ministers and officials are in discussion regularly with the Welsh Government on a range of topics so we can work together to the benefit of all citizens of the United Kingdom.

Iron and Steel: Northern Ireland

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to ensure the removal of tariffs and quotas placed on steel movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress has been made in negotiations to raise UK quotas within the EU safeguards to account for the additional steel moved from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to improve and clarify the customs process for companies moving product from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve and clarify the customs process for companies moving products from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress he has made in negotiations to raise UK quotas within the EU safeguards to account for the additional steel moved from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Penny Mordaunt: The UK Government has provided comprehensive guidance on the processes that apply for moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is available on gov.uk. This includes the various means that are in place - whether through the UK Trader Scheme, the de minimis waiver arrangements, or the preferential arrangements available under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement - to ensure goods are able to move from Great Britain to Northern Ireland tariff-free. We have also established the Trader Support Service, to which more than 27,000 companies are signed up, to support traders engaging in those processes. It is complemented by the Movement Assistance Scheme which provides assistance for traders moving food or agricultural products for which specific SPS controls apply.As my Rt Hon Friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster set out in the Commons on 13 January, the UK has operated arrangements since 1 January to ensure relevant UK-origin steel products do not incur tariffs when moving to Northern Ireland from Great Britain. EU origin steel will also not be subject to tariffs when moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. On 21 January the Government also set out to stakeholders how relevant quotas can be accessed when businesses in Northern Ireland import steel from the rest of the world, and we remain in intensive contact with industry as these arrangements are put in place.

Treasury

Equipment: Customs

Scott Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2020 to Question HL9766 on Musical Instruments: Customs, what options other than a Carnet a UK citizen residing in the UK has to transport video, photography, and recording equipment between the EU and UK whilst undertaking freelance work.

Jesse Norman: In addition to using carnets, there are two main alternative options for transporting video, photography and recording equipment between the EU and the UK - Temporary Admission and Returned Goods Relief. Temporary Admission is a customs procedure that allows a person to import non-UK goods temporarily into the UK. Using Temporary Admission means any import duty or import VAT is suspended as long as the goods are removed from the UK at a later date. Temporary Admission is useful if a person needs to temporarily import goods such as samples, professional equipment or items for auction, exhibition or demonstration into the UK. Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-to-import-goods-temporarily-to-the-uk-or-eu. Returned Goods Relief (RGR) allows eligible items to be reimported free from Customs duty and import VAT. The relief can apply to exported items returning to the UK if certain conditions can be met. For RGR to apply goods must normally be returned within three years of the date of export unless exceptional circumstances exist. For RGR on import VAT to apply the exporter and importer must be the same person and any VAT due must have been previously paid in the UK or EU. Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pay-less-import-duty-and-vat-when-re-importing-goods-to-the-uk-and-eu. Temporary Admission and Returned Goods Relief may be available in the EU. Further information on EU customs procedures can be found at https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/business/customs-procedures_en.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Databases

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport,  how many information gateways there are in operation in his Department; and how those gateways are managed and monitored.

Mr John Whittingdale: DCMS is able to share information with third parties including government departments, public bodies, agencies, devolved nations or local authorities using statutory information gateways. DCMS does not hold a central list of all information sharing gateways available to it. Each information gateway will have its own management and governance requirements depending on the type of information being shared, and will have to comply with the Data Protection Legislation. In addition, any data sharing will be managed in accordance with the department's data and information policies and standards and our compliance and commitment to protecting citizens' data.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what criterion must be met for his Department to accept market failure in DCMS sectors.

Mr John Whittingdale: When appraising proposals for policies, programmes, and projects, DCMS relies on central government guidance on appraisal and evaluation, from the Treasury’s Green Book.The Green Book is based upon the ideas of welfare economics and concerns the optimisation of social welfare. Much of its subject matter therefore concerns estimation of public, that is social, welfare values. These are values that economic markets are either unable to fully capture, or are unable to register at all. The various forms of shortfall in market welfare optimisation are characterised as “market failures.”There is no single form of criterion to accept or address market failure. This will depend on the type of market failure, the evidence around its existence or severity, and the results of the Social Cost Benefit Analysis for potential interventions.

Ofcom: Termination of Employment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many jobs have been lost from Ofcom since 2010.

Mr John Whittingdale: Below is headcount data from Ofcom’s Annual Reports since 2010, figures which are in the public domain:Year20102011201220132014201520162017201820192020Average FTE865832735781785787795828868902937The reduction between 2010 and 2012 reflects headcount reductions in the wider public sector at the time. Since then, Ofcom has had a number of new duties conferred on them which account for subsequent headcount rises.

Tech Nation: Equality

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress Tech Nation has made in improving diversity within (a) within the tech sector and (b) its own organisation.

Caroline Dinenage: Tech Nation is committed to improving diversity and inclusion within the tech sector. Within their growth programmes, the percentage of non-London companies they support has risen from 32% to 68% since 2018 and they have been collecting ethnicity data from applicants since 2020.They have also taken a proactive stance on improving representation in the sector through a number of initiatives such as the successful ‘female founder hours’, improving inclusivity of online resources and developing a diverse speaker database.Their annual Tech Nation Report has included detailed diversity statistics on the UK tech sector since the organisation was established in 2018 and they released their Diversity & Inclusion Report in 2019 which delved deeper into this topic.For the past two years, they have collaborated with the TechTalent Charter on the data collection which supports their work driving inclusion and diversity in tech recruitment. They have partnered with Extend Ventures in a research capacity for their in-depth report, Diversity Beyond Gender. They have also acted as a delivery partner with OneTech - an organisation dedicated to challenging inequity in the digital sector.Tech Nation are committed to fostering a culture of inclusivity within their organisation and to implementing diverse hiring practices, including using job boards such as Black Young Professionals Network and Disabilities Jobsite UK. They are also currently collecting thorough diversity data internally. This uses a newly-developed framework which they then plan to extend to cohort companies and the wider industry, via an external toolkit.

Disinformation: Radicalism

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of the correlation between misinformation and radicalisation; and whether the Misinformation Unit reports radicalisation to the Home Office.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government takes the issue of misinformation and disinformation very seriously. That is why we stood up the Counter Disinformation Unit up in March 2020 to bring together cross-Government monitoring and analysis capabilities. The Unit’s primary function is to provide a comprehensive picture of the extent, scope and impact of misinformation and disinformation regarding Covid-19 and to work with partners. including the Home Office, to ensure appropriate action is taken.There is no single pathway to radicalisation but we are aware that misinformation is one tool amongst many used by radicalisers to recruit and influence vulnerable people. Since the pandemic, we have also observed extremist influencers exploiting Covid-19 to spread conspiracy theories and false narratives to promote their own agenda.We are absolutely clear that online content which makes dangerous or incorrect claims about the virus, or propels extreme views must be tackled. In addition to our work with the social media platforms to address misinformation and disinformation and our work to build audience resilience to disinformation online through the SHARE checklist, we also work closely with the Home Office, whose existing programmes such as Prevent play a key role in tackling the issue of radicalisation in all its forms.

Culture Recovery Fund

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether (a) zoos, (b) aquariums, (c) safari parks and (d) other organisations that manage or preserve natural habitats and species are eligible for funding from the Cultural Recovery Fund.

Caroline Dinenage: Under the Culture Recovery Fund, organisations which manage or preserve natural habitats and species as the main focus of their activity are ineligible. Full eligibility can be found on the website of the relevant delivery body (in this case National Lottery Heritage Fund/Historic England https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-support-for-zoos-and-aquariums#eligibility), and queries concerning eligibility can be directed to them. Funding may be available to organisations that manage listed buildings to support reopening and preservation. Organisations which manage or preserve natural habitats or species may be eligible for the Zoo Animals Fund, managed through the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. Applications are open until 26 February 2021, and eligibility criteria can be accessed here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-support-for-zoos-and-aquariums#eligibility.

Women and Equalities

Females: Internet

Ruth Jones: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on tackling online abuse targeted at women.

Kemi Badenoch: Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions across government departments, on a variety of issues, including online abuse targeted at women. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the gov.uk website. In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not usually disclosed.The full government response to the Online Harms White Paper sets out how the proposed legal duty of care on online companies will work in practice. Under the new laws, all companies will need to take swift and effective action against illegal online abuse. If any company fails to tackle illegal content, or if companies providing Category 1 services fail to enforce their terms and conditions, they could face an investigation and enforcement action.

Gender Recognition: Children

Ben Bradley: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment her Department has made of the effect that the decision of the High Court on 1 December 2020, on requiring informed consent for giving puberty blockers and hormones to children aged under 16, will have on the safety and protection of children.

Kemi Badenoch: The NHS has previously recognised the need for a review of how to best meet the needs of children and young people with gender incongruence, which is why in September 2020, Dr Hilary Cass was asked to carry out an independent review of the gender identity development service. The review will be wide-ranging in scope, with a focus on how care can be improved for children and young people. The Tavistock is also required to undertake a number of urgent actions in response to the CQC’s recent finding that its child gender-identity service is ‘inadequate’.The Tavistock and Portman appeal is subject to ongoing legal proceedings, as such the Government is unable to comment on the specifics of the case at this time. However, we will follow the proceedings closely and continue to review its impact on policy related to this area.